More Exercise to Combat Heart Disease
Study finds no upper limit to benefits.
Consistent moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is widely known to reduce disease risks and enhance longevity. For healthy individuals, however, more exercise does not necessarily lead to additional health benefits once minimum health promotion levels are met. A new study shows that this is not the case for people with heart disease.
The good news for people with cardiovascular conditions is that more benefits can accrue with increasingly higher physical activity levels, as reported in PLOS Medicine (2021; doi:10.371/journal.pmed.1003845). “Physical activity recommendations should not follow a ‘one-guideline-fits-all’ approach but underline the need for precision medicine in which physical activity prescription may be dependent, amongst other factors, on an individual’s cardiovascular health status,” noted study authors.
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
